At the Pleasure of the President (The Perfect Gentlemen 5)

In Elizabeth, they might have found the perfect Mata Hari.

Or the Russians had another agent in place and were manipulating the situation to make her look like a major player, not the innocent pawn she was.

Zack’s heart told him one thing. But logic told him which possibility was more likely.

“What do you want me to do?” Roman’s voice cut through the silence.

“We should look deeper into Elizabeth’s background.” The words made him sick, but he forced himself to say them.

Connor’s eyes went stony. “If that’s what it takes.”

He had to be the president now or his friends could lose their lives, wives, and futures. He didn’t get to go to Elizabeth and plead for her love, beg her to tell him the truth and not be a traitor. He had to play the Russians’ game the dirty way.

Zack stood. “It does. And Connor, I expect you to be thorough. And don’t breathe a word of this to Lara.”

“Oh, I won’t tell my wife a thing because she would have my hide.” Connor closed his laptop. “I’ll head over to Dax’s. I want to check on him and Holland. Then I’ll get to work on trying to figure out if Liz is some kind of Russian plant.”

But he sounded skeptical.

“I’m serious, Connor,” Zack insisted. This was too important to simply let go.

“I will do my job, Mr. President,” Connor vowed in a chilly tone.

“I’ll head over with you.” Gabe crossed the room to stand beside Connor, his keys in hand. “I’ll drive. I need to pick up my wife.” He turned to Zack. “Should I take Liz with us or are you going to send her back to her apartment?”

“Why would I do that?” He raised a brow.

Zack had zero intention of letting Elizabeth out of his sight. She always managed to find trouble when she was on her own. He couldn’t allow her to cause more. And if he was wrong about her… Well, he had no intention of letting her get away.

More than once, Zack had asked himself what he would do if she proved to be a turncoat. He didn’t have an answer. He wasn’t sure he could ever turn her in and allow her to be taken away to a maximum-security federal penitentiary where he would never see her again. First, the scandal would be too great. Second…he didn’t want to live without her. No, better to deal with her in his own way, and he couldn’t do that if he put distance between them now.

“Earth to Zack?” Gabe called.

Zack zipped a sharp stare to his old friend. “Elizabeth will stay right where she’s supposed to be. Nothing changes. We can’t give anyone who’s watching us the idea that anything is wrong. It’s best to let them think that their plan is working.”

“And you’re not even going to ask Liz for her side of the story? I think that’s a mistake,” Gabe said.

“Have you thought about the fact that if I’m wrong, someone dies?” Zack asked. “I know you’re all looking at me and Roman, thinking we’re monsters for even questioning a woman we’ve always considered a friend. Hell, she’s far more to me, and you know it. Unlike the rest of you, I can count the women I’ve slept with on one hand. When I was younger, I didn’t get to be reckless or wild. I’ve always had to be careful. I’m not going to change at a moment when my mistakes could cost the people I love their lives, and that includes her. If she’s involved, she could get hurt. If she’s not, then she could suffer in an entirely different way. So judge me if you like, walk out of here and tell yourself I’m a cold asshole, but I’m going to find out everything I can so I’ll have all the data possible before I decide how to proceed.”

Connor held out a hand. “I’m sorry, Zack. I’ll get you everything you need. We all care about her, but you know we’ve got your back.”

“We do.” Gabe joined Connor. “We’ll back whatever play you come up with. I’ll make sure Liz and Gus have an escort home.”

They left, and Zack let out a long breath. At least his friends didn’t hate him.

“It’s going to be okay,” Roman assured. “Go and sit for a while. I’ll wait for the women.”

Roman always knew when he needed time and space to decompress. “Thanks.”

He walked out of the room and was immediately followed by a Secret Service agent Thomas trusted. Zack hurried to the residence because he needed quiet and silence. Solitude. So he could think…and worry.

God, he hoped he didn’t have to mourn, too.

* * * *

Liz nodded at the Secret Service agent who stood outside the doorway to the residence and realized how happy she was to have him there. After the day she’d had, an armed guard no longer seemed like an inconvenience or a reminder that privacy was an illusion. It was a reassurance that Russian assholes wouldn’t be lying in wait.

“Good evening, Ms. Matthews,” he said, opening the door for her. “The president is waiting for you. I hope your evening was a pleasant one.”

“Thank you.” She didn’t respond about her dreadful, futile evening. It wasn’t as if she could dump everything on him.

Once she’d fled her apartment, she realized that she hadn’t even retrieved her clothes. Instead, she’d grabbed all the personal belongings she’d set on the counter when she’d walked in, summoned a car, and headed around the corner to a busy coffee shop, where she could at least tell herself she had safety in numbers, to wait. Between there and the White House, she’d called Gus and told her about the entire encounter. Gus had listened, aghast. Then she’d suggested they send a couple of interns over to Liz’s to get her clothes. But that seemed like a bad idea on a couple of fronts.

And Liz certainly never wanted to walk into that apartment again.

She sighed as the door closed behind her and she set her purse on the entry table beside Zack’s wallet. He didn’t have to carry one, but he liked to. Force of habit. He often talked about how he missed normal things, like having a set of keys in his pocket. He didn’t drive anymore, but one day, they would do everyday things others took for granted again and it would be wonderful.

But Liz couldn’t think about cars right now, not after what had happened to Holland tonight. Her friend was a bit sore but thankfully fine, though she’d declared Dax was being overly protective. The woman was far more worried about her car than hearing about the grimmer outcomes that had been possible.

Holland could have died.

Next time, the Russians would plant a bomb.

Next time, they might be targeting Zack.

The thought made her tremble, but she was determined to not break down again tonight. She’d done enough of that this afternoon.

Liz walked through the living room, back to their bedroom. Zack hadn’t been waiting with Roman, so she’d known he would retreat here. This was the only place where he could be alone, even if the solitude was mostly an illusion. Roman had said Zack had wanted some space, but she knew what he needed—someone to take care of him, to remind him that everything around him wasn’t horrible.

He needed her. And god knew she needed him, too.

Liz found the bedroom empty, but she sa

w his suitcoat draped over the back of a chair. She picked it up and hung it in the closet, the sense of intimacy so sweet it brought tears to her eyes. This was what she’d wanted for years—to be close to him, to have a life with him. They couldn’t lose that now, not when they seemed so close to having everything they’d dreamed of.

The sound of running water drifted from the bathroom, and she smelled Zack’s soap. The sandalwood scent clung to Zack, and she loved the way it smelled on him.

The evening so far had been spent on worrying about the future, but they had tonight.

Liz stripped out of her clothes. After their rough day, being together would at least ensure it ended well. Having Zack working over her, stroking himself deep inside her, then wrapping his arms around her while they slept, would remind them of everything they were fighting for.

Tomorrow they would get up and again start fighting the mess that would still be waiting, but for these few hours before dawn, they could sink into each other and tune out the rest of the world entirely.

She walked into the bathroom, the steam from his shower caressing her skin. Making love tonight would be an act of intimacy, but also one of defiance. While she’d sat in Dax and Holland’s living room, she’d thought about how she’d handled things this afternoon—without utter panic. She still believed they needed to back away from the Joy and Roman story, along with the pipeline, until they could collectively devise a better plan. But she hated the fact that she’d broken down. Zack needed her to be strong, to be by his side. Instead, she’d taken strength from him.

She stepped toward the natural stone shower and simply watched him for a sublime moment. He was the single most beautiful man she’d ever seen. No matter how many times she saw him naked, he still took her breath away. But this time seeing him also hurt her heart because his head was down, one strong arm braced against the shower wall as if he needed the support to hold him up. He had so much weight on his shoulders, and he couldn’t give it to anyone else. The burden was his to bear, and he obviously felt every ounce of it tonight.